For the third time, The Leapfrog Group has named Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital Long Beach to its annual list of Top Hospitals. An elite distinction awarded to hospitals nationwide for demonstrating excellence in hospital safety and quality through the Leapfrog Hospital Survey, the Leapfrog Top Hospital award is given to less than seven percent of all eligible hospitals. The awards, which are given annually, were announced at Leapfrog’s Annual Meeting and Top Hospital Awards on Dec. 2, in Washington, D.C.

“Miller Children’s is committed to providing the highest level of quality care and patient safety to each and every person we treat,” says Donna Hartman, Vice President, Clinical Quality & Patient Safety, Miller Children’s. “Quality improvement is an on-going, continuous process and we plan to continue to work alongside our patients and community to continue to improve our high standard of care for all.”

“Leapfrog’s Top Hospital award is widely acknowledged as one of the most prestigious distinctions any hospital can achieve in the United States. It recognizes institutions for their excellence in quality of care and patient safety, as well as their commitment to transparency. By achieving Top Hospital status, Miller Children’s has proven it’s a premier institution and deserves to be recognized for its dedication to the families and patients in Long Beach,” says Leah Binder, president and CEO, The Leapfrog Group.

Miller Children’s was one of 94 Top Hospitals recognized nationally. The list includes:

  • 24 Top Rural Hospitals

  • 61 Top Urban Hospitals

  • Nine Top Children’s Hospitals

Among the hospitals reaching this achievement are:

  • Academic medical centers

  • Teaching hospitals

  • Community hospitals in rural, suburban and urban settings

The selection is based on the results of The Leapfrog Group’s annual hospital survey, which measures hospitals’ performance on patient safety and quality, focusing on three critical areas of hospital care: how patients fare, resource use and management structures established to prevent errors. Performance across many areas of hospital care is considered in establishing the qualifications for the award, including rates for high-risk procedures and a hospital’s ability to prevent medication errors.

The Top Hospital award is not given to a set number of hospitals, but rather, to all urban, rural and children’s hospitals that meet the high standards defined in each year’s Top Hospitals Methodology. 

To see the full list of institutions honored as a 2014 Top Hospital, please visit www.leapfroggroup.org/tophospitals.